All excellent points, Cindy.

Yesterday's announcement is certainly reason to celebrate, and we should, but I expect shenanigans ahead and there will lots more work to do.  But you all are more than savvy enough to know that already, I'm sure.

Cheers, everyone.  Enjoy your weekend!

Aaron

Aaron Isherwood
Senior Staff Attorney
Sierra Club Environmental Law Program
85 Second Street, 2d Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-3441
Phone: (415) 977-5680
Fax: (415) 977-5793

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From:        clrank@hughes.net
To:        jim_scon@yahoo.com
Cc:        dteaney@appalachian-center.org, jlovett@appalachian-center.org, JHECKER@publicjustice.net, mjanes@hardynet.com, aaron.isherwood@sierraclub.org, dbady.ovec@gmail.com, janet.ovec@gmail.com, vernoncrmw@gmail.com, vivian@ohvec.org, ec@osenergy.org
Date:        04/02/2010 11:41 AM
Subject:        Re: Re: Selenium compliance extensions



Celebrate we should, but I'd not linger long in euphoria land, Jim.  

....EPA, OSM, et al are all still talking fills this way, fills that way, mine throughs, etc. .....  and Joe Pizarchik the other day sounded more like we're going to forego the buffer zone rule as we know it (i.e. no mining within a certain distance from certain defined streams or stream segments) and start relying on new and improved CHIA's to determine where fills might not cause 'material damage' (a term lng debated but yet to be defined on the federal level and badly defined on a couple of occasions here in WV.. though challenged and not approved by OSM)

....and we still need enforcement no matter how good the rules or well-intentioned the EPA....  as Vernon Haltom said this morning in another context "Regardless of how clear and strict the rules of the game are, they’re useless if the referee is at the concession stand."    .....  Of course EPA can still take over the WV DEP NPDES program to make this work, but if one counts up the number of states petitioning for similar takeovers EPA would have to quadruple in size before it even scratched the surface.....

Happy Easter weekend..... Cindy
________________________

On Apr 2, 2010, Jim Sconyers <jim_scon@yahoo.com> wrote:

I'm trying not to float off on a cloud of euphoria - Spruce veto, end of valley fills, appeal of Mingo CTL, .....  Reality bites: gotta wait and see what actually changes.

Jim Sconyers
jim_scon@yahoo.com
304.698.9628

Remember: Mother Nature bats last.

--- On Fri, 4/2/10, clrank@hughes.net <clrank@hughes.net> wrote:

From: clrank@hughes.net <clrank@hughes.net>
Subject: Re: Selenium compliance extensions
To: dteaney@appalachian-center.org
Cc: jlovett@appalachian-center.org, JHECKER@publicjustice.net, mjanes@hardynet.com, aaron.isherwood@sierraclub.org, jim_scon@yahoo.com, dbady.ovec@gmail.com, janet.ovec@gmail.com, vernoncrmw@gmail.com, vivian@ohvec.org
Date: Friday, April 2, 2010, 10:58 AM
You write: "This is good news.  It has been a good week.  I hope everyone has a great weekend."

Wonderful to have cause to make those statements.....Maybe you should date it, frame it and hang it on your wall. ...  i might --- just as a reminder that all things are possible - if only for the briefest of moments.

Cindy
__________________

On Apr 2, 2010, Derek Teaney <dteaney@appalachian-center.org> wrote:
All –

 

EPA Region III just informed me that they issued general objections to all pending selenium compliance schedule extensions.  The legal effect is to extend EPA’s time to provide specific comments for 90 days.  The practical effect is to cause serious anti-backsliding issues because DEP was unable to issue the extensions prior to the final compliance deadline of April 5, 2010.

 

This is good news.  It has been a good week.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

Cheers,

 

Derek

 

Derek Teaney

Senior Attorney

Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment

P.O. Box 507

Lewisburg, WV 24901

Phone (304) 793-9007

Fax (304) 645-9008

dteaney@appalachian-center.org

 

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